Table of contents
January 2009 Vol 10 No 1
From the editors
p1 | doi:10.1038/nrm2613
Research Highlights
Mechanotransduction: Under tension | PDF (201 KB)
p3 | doi:10.1038/nrm2606
Protein degradation: Fits like a glove | PDF (177 KB)
p4 | doi:10.1038/nrm2601
Protein folding: TRiC revealed | PDF (156 KB)
p4 | doi:10.1038/nrm2607
Cell death: DIAP1 puts ubiquitin on drICE | PDF (153 KB)
p4 | doi:10.1038/nrm2614
In brief
Cell death | Organelle dynamics | Protein folding | PDF (125 KB)
p5 | doi:10.1038/nrm2615
Mechanotransduction: Bent out of shape | PDF (190 KB)
p6 | doi:10.1038/nrm2605
Technology Watch
Super-resolution imaging | MaxQuant for proteomics | PDF (129 KB)
p6 | doi:10.1038/nrm2610
Cell cycle: Destruct and arrest | PDF (175 KB)
p6 | doi:10.1038/nrm2612
Web Watch
Human protein factory | PDF (108 KB)
p7 | doi:10.1038/nrm2611
Nuclear transport: Cell-cycle-regulated mRNA traffic | PDF (269 KB)
p8 | doi:10.1038/nrm2599
Journal Club
Chromosomes work better when they are tense | PDF (136 KB)
p8 | doi:10.1038/nrm2602
Focus on: Mechanotransduction
Reviews
Environmental sensing through focal adhesions
Benjamin Geiger, Joachim P. Spatz & Alexander D. Bershadsky
p21 | doi:10.1038/nrm2593
Cells respond to a wide range of signals from the surrounding extracellular matrix. Research into the complex interplay between cell adhesion and the cytoskeleton, combined with advanced surface nanoengineering technologies, can shed light on the mechanisms by which cells sense the neighbouring nanoenvironment.
Mechanotransduction in development: a growing role for contractility
Michele A. Wozniak & Christopher S. Chen
p34 | doi:10.1038/nrm2592
Mechanical forces regulate basic cellular processes, such as proliferation, differentiation and tissue organization during embryogenesis. What are the mechanisms that underlie force-induced mechanotransduction during development? And what is the role of actomyosin-mediated contractile forces in the regulation of cell and tissue structure and function?
Neurosensory mechanotransduction
Martin Chalfie
p44 | doi:10.1038/nrm2595
Neurons that sense touch, sound and acceleration respond rapidly to specific mechanical signals. But what are the proteins that transduce these signals? Current studies are directed towards characterizing channel proteins as candidate transduction molecules and determining how they are mechanically gated.
Mechanotransduction in vascular physiology and atherogenesis
Cornelia Hahn & Martin A. Schwartz
p53 | doi:10.1038/nrm2596
Blood flow is crucial for vascular morphogenesis and physiology. Endothelial cells respond to blood flow by transducing mechanical forces into biochemical signals that regulate cellular responses. Chronic exposure to disturbed flow causes the constant activation of these cellular responses, which cause vessel dysfunction and disease.
Mechanotransduction gone awry
Diana E. Jaalouk & Jan Lammerding
p63 | doi:10.1038/nrm2597
Cells sense their physical surroundings by translating mechanical forces and deformations into biochemical signals. Defects in mechanotransduction are implicated in the development of many diseases, ranging from muscular dystrophies, cardiomyopathies and loss of hearing to cancer progression and metastasis.
Perspective
Opinion
Mechanotransduction at a distance: mechanically coupling the extracellular matrix with the nucleus
Ning Wang, Jessica D. Tytell & Donald E. Ingber
p75 | doi:10.1038/nrm2594
Mechanical forces that are exerted on surface-adhesion receptors can be channelled along cytoskeletal filaments and concentrated at distant sites in the cytoplasm and nucleus. How do these forces act at a distance to induce mechanochemical conversion in the nucleus, and what effects can they have on the cell?
Review
The 3Ms of central spindle assembly: microtubules, motors and MAPs
Michael Glotzer
p9 | doi:10.1038/nrm2609
During anaphase, the mitotic spindle reorganizes in preparation for cytokinesis. Kinesin motor proteins and microtubule-associated proteins (MAPs) bundle the interpolar microtubule plus ends and generate the central spindle, which regulates cleavage furrow initiation and the completion of cytokinesis.
